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THE FIRST MUNICIPAL ELECTION 
IN GREATER NEW YORK. 



AN ADDRKSS 



DELIVERED BEFORE 



St. Loais Goaneil, Iiegion of Hofior, 

DECEMBER 20, 1897, 
By JAMES L. BLAIR. 



ST. LOUIS: 

N1XON-JONE8 PRINTING CO. 






lie First Miiiiioipiil HIeotioii in Greater New york. 



AN ADDRESS 



DKI.IVKlfKI) IlKKOltK 



ST. LOUIS COUNCIL, LliClON 01' HONOR 

DKCKMIiKli 20, 1«;»7, 

BY JAMES L. BLAI R. 



W'oiiln/ ClKdict'llor ami ( Jfiilhiiitn of the Lcyifni : 

ElectioiiH in the city of Now York liave iilwaya been of 
national interest. That wliich took place oji Novenibcv 
2n(l, 181)7, was si)ccially so for a variety of reaHonn. Tlie 
va.st intere.st.s involved, the nnnihel' and chaiiicler of the 
can<lidates, ami tlic issues jit stake were hmcIi as to <^ive it a 
Ijccnliar signilicancc; to all sttidents of political (juestionti. 
It is in the hope that I may he able to point out some of 
these special features and to draw from the incident t«onie 
pr<jlit;d)le conclusions that I hav(; s(dected this subject. 

(IHEATEIt NKW YOIIK. 

Before proceeding to discuss the election itself, it miiy 
be profitable to consider something of the mateiial and 
political history of the city. The city of New York prior 
to its enlaigement occupiiid the whole of Munhullan fsh-ind, 



— 2 — 

covering about 28 square miles of territory. The enlarged 
city takes in Staten Island and other small islands in the 
bay, part of Queen's County and all of the city of Brook- 
lyn, embracing in all an area of 360 square miles. In 1626 
the Dutch Colonists bought the island of Manhattan for $24. 
The surrounding country, now included in greater New York, 
was not considered worth purchasing. To-day the value of 
the land and buildings of the enlarged city is not less than 
$4,500,000,000. The new city will have a population of 
3,300,000, making it second only to London, the largest 
city in the world. It will have over 6,000 acres of land 
devoted to parks; 353 miles of waterfront ; 1,156 miles of 
sewers; 531 miles of street railway; 1,002 miles of paved 
streets ; will have in its employ 33,000 persons, an annual 
income of $75,000,000 and a bonded indebtedness of $185,- 
000,000. The number of people, therefore, in this great 
metropolis, is as great as the entire population of the thir- 
teen colonies when they declared their independence. The 
character of this population is the most cosmopolitan in the 
world, including representatives of almost every nation and 
city upon the earth; 1,250,000 of this number are foreign 
born, and the city contains more Italians than Venice ; 
more Scotch than Leith ; more English than Portsmouth ; 
more Canadians than the Canadian city of London; more 
Germans than any city in Germany, except Berlin, and 
more Irish than Dublin. 

Her street car lines represent an investment of $95,000,- 
000, and carry annually 480,000,000 of passengers, or an 
average of nearly 1,500,000 a day, which is within twelve 
per cent of the entire passenger traflSc of the steam rail- 
roads of the nation. Her elevated roads are capitalized 
at $20,000,000, and carry annually 250,000,000 persons 
or an average of 700,000 per day. On the steam railroads 
centering in the city, nearly 1,000 passenger trains leave 
the city every twenty-four hours, and they carry two-fifths 

GIFT 

«RS. WOODROW WIUON 
NOV. 25, 1939 



— 3 — 

of the entire passenger traffic of the steam roads of the 
United States, and transport one-third of the total ship- 
ment by rail of the country. Over 500,000 persons enter 
the city every day on these roads, exclusive of 150,000 
persona who daily pass between Brooklyn and Manhattan 
Island. Through the city pass annually two-fifths of all 
of the exports and two-thirds of all the imports of the 
nation. The aggregate of the checks and drafts which 
pass through the clearing house every year is 29,000,000,- 
000 dollars or $96,000,000 a day. The city will contain 
50,000 manufacturing establishments, requiring a capital 
of $1,100,000,000, employing 635,000 people and paying 
$400,000,000 a year in wages. The value of their product 
reaches $1,400,000,000. 

These figures will give some idea of the magnitude of 
the great metropolis, and of the prize which was to be the 
reward of the great struggle in November. 

THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE OLD CITY. 

The political history of New York has not been different 
from that of most large cities. As far back as 1786 when 
the city had a population of but 24,000 people, contem- 
poraneous literature shows that there existed very great 
maladministration of the city's affairs. It was not until 
1821 that the city attained any measure of local self-gov- 
ernment, having been up to that time controlled by a 
council composed of the Governor and four Senators, who 
appointed all local ofiicers. But this change did not seem 
to mend matters, and the city offices and revenue were alter 
nately the prey of the several political parties as the fortune 
of political war gave them the supremacy. In the 50's the 
evil became acute when the famous, or as some prefer to 
put it, the infamous, Fernando Wood came into power, 
and was three times elected Mayor of the city. Wood was 



— 4 — 

an able man, a shrewd organizer, and represented the ex- 
treme type of purely partisan politician. He was charged 
with being entirely unscrupulous, and with having sold 
offices in his gift to the highest bidder. His conduct of 
affairs became so intolerable that he was legislated out of 
office in 1857. From that time until the organisation of 
the Tweed Ring in 1869, the city suffered much misgovern- 
ment, but all these disorders reached their greatest height 
during the period from 1869 to 1871, when Tweed and his 
associates dominated the affairs of the city. During that 
period of two years and eight months, the indebtedness of 
the city and count}^ of New York was increased from 
thirty-six millions of dollars to one hundred and sixteen 
millions of dollars, and the greater part of this sum of 
eighty million dollars was squandered or stolen outright. 

The investigation started by Mr. Tilden disclosed that 
some of the ways in which this vast stealage was covered 
up were as follows: The city's books were made to show 
that $3,200,000 had been expended in repairing armories 
and drill rooms, the actual cost of which was less than 
$250,000. That $11,000,000 had been expended on an 
unfinished courthouse, a building for which, when com- 
pleted, a fair estimate of the cost would be less than 
$3,000,000. That over $7,000,000 were expended 
for safes, carpets, furniture, plumbing, etc., which upon 
a careful examination were appraised at $620,000; 
that $460,000 had been paid for $48,0Q0 worth 
of lumber; that for printing, advertising and sta- 
tionery had been paid in that short period $7,168,000; 
that thousands of warrants and vouchers had been fraudu- 
lently made and that a large number of fictitious persons 
were on the pay-rolls of the city. This combination exer- 
cised a controlling influence on the politics of the city and 
its plans were laid for the capture of the presidency and 
the application of its methods to the conduct of the finances 



of the nation. It8 overthrow by the fearless and able attack 
of Samuel J. Tiklen is one of the things for which not only 
the city of New York but every citizen of the United States 
owes him a debt of gratitude. 

Following the overthrow of Tweed there was a popular 
uprising which elected William F. Havemeyer as Mayor on 
a purely non-partisian platform. The administration of 
Mr. Havemeyer was a most excellent one, for although he 
was a Democrat in national politics he was of the opinion 
that national issues should have nothing to do with the local 
government of cities, and he administered the affairs of New 
York accordingly, ui)on purely business methods. But this 
method did not suit the partisan politicians of either party, 
and at the end of Mr. Havemeyer's administration the city 
settled back into the old rut and, in 1874, on a square issue 
between a straight Republican and Democratic nominee and 
an unexceptional non-partisan candidate, the Tammany can- 
didate received more votes than the other two combined. 
Another Tammany man was elected in 1876, and it is a 
notable fact that in the campaign of that year, the only 
candidate who came near being defeated was Richard Croker, 
now the leader of Tammany Hall, who was one of the 
nominees for Coroner, and wdio ran about 30,000 votes 
behind the party's candidate for Mayor. Then followed a 
line of purely partisan chief executives of the city until 
the evils of maladministration of the city government be- 
came so acute that by the exposures made by the famous 
Lexow Committee, public indignation was again aroused 
and in 1894 a committee of seventy was formed, the 
central principle of whose platform was " Municipal 
government should be entirely divorced from party 
politics and from selfish ambition or gain. The eco- 
nomic and business-like management of municipal 
affairs has nothing to do with questions of national or 
State politics." Upon this platform William L. Strong 



— 6 — 

was elected by a large majority. It is conceded by all 
(except the orators of Tammany Hall in the last cam- 
paign) that the administration of Mayor Strong has been 
characterized throughout by the purest of motives and that 
he has been guilty of no more serious error, from the 
standpoint of good municipal government, than that of 
assuming that because he had been elected by members of 
both parties his appointments to office should be bi-partisan, 
rather than non-partisan ; and in attempting to carry out 
this idea practically by apportioning the offices to repre- 
sentatives of both parties, he undoubtedly made mistakes ; 
but, judged by his latest utterances, his experience has 
evidently taught him the necessity of an absolute separation 
of party politics from municipal business, for he says: "My 
experience in the city hall has impressed me strongly with 
the fact that the conduct of a city government is purely a 
business matter. * * * j venture to say as the result 
of my observation that whenever the city departments have 
been used for political purposes they have been used against 
the public interests. The further away from politics the 
city officer gets in the performance of his duty, the better 
for him and for the people. * * * " 

Facts and figures carefully collected relating to the con- 
duct of affairs during this reform administration, as it is 
called in New York, show conclusively that the afi'airs of the 
city have been better, more cheaply and more honestly 
handled than for many years past, and it was supposed by 
those who believed that party politics should have no part 
in municipal contests, that the people of New York had 
learned by their varied experiences that the affairs of the 
city would better be treated solely as business matters. It 
was thought that another so-called reform candidate could 
easily be elected, and by the correction of such errors as 
were charged to the administration of Mayor Strong, the 
government on the purely "business principles" idea 



would become ti permanent thing in the city. But for 
various reasons, some of which we will undertake to dis- 
cover, those holding these views were mistaken. 



THE ORGANIZATION OF THE GREATER CITY. 

The charter of the new city of New York was passed b}^ 
a Republican Legislature in the beginning of this year. It 
is a carefully prepared instrument, and many of its pro- 
visions are taken from the charter of this city. It contains 
some rather novel provisions, among them is one which 
provides a means for the testing of drugs and medicines 
sold by pharmacists, so as to prevent adulteration; another 
which provides for the issue of city bonds in very small 
denominations, so that they may be bought and held by 
persons of moderate means, and another for an art com- 
mission, one of the duties of which is to see that no 
public building, memorial, statuary or work of art shall be 
erected in any of. the public places of the city without the 
approbation of expert and distinguished artists. 

It provides for the government of the city by a Mayor 
and a legislative botly, composed of two houses, a Council 
and Board of Aldermen, but the city is divided into a num- 
ber of boroughs, each of which has a local government of 
its own, who^e head is a borough president, subordinate, 
of course, to the central government of the whole city. 
The framers of this charter proceeded upon the theory of 
the aggregation of the component units regulated by a cen- 
tral government rather than the theory of unification, ex- 
perience having shown, that a community of over 1,500,000 
souls occupying the average amount of territory, cannot 
best be wholly governed from one central point without 
very great inconvenience, loss of time and added expense. 
Very great powers are lodged in the Mayor. The princi- 
pal draftsman of the charter stated that he was a believer 



in a " czar mayor " on the theory that undivided responsi- 
bility and great powers are the best guarantees of good 
administration. His term of office is four years and he 
has the sole appointive power of officials and heads of 
■departments, whose salaries aggregate more than $500,000 
unnually. Under these is an army of more than 30,000 
employees, whose salaries reach into the millions. 

It will readily be seen then that the prize was worthy of 
a great struggle. The power to fill more than 30,000 
offices, to disburse an annual income of $75,000,000 for 
four years, and to preside over a commutiity, the second 
largest in the world, presents questions of grave responsi- 
bility to be sure. But Americans and particularly New 
Yorkers, are not accustomed to shrink from responsibili- 
ties of that sort and consequently there was no lack of 
candidates. 

Tammany's candidate. 

Tammany Hall, the oldest political association in the 
United States, was organized in 1789. One of the 
principal qualifications of membership was that no per- 
son but a native born American should be eligible to 
hold office in the society. That qualification does not 
now exist. Named after a famous Indian chief, and 
organized into tribes, its head officer is designated as 
Sachem, and its nomenclature and much of the personal 
conduct of many of its members, especially at election 
times, is that of wild Indians. It was not originally 
designed as a partisan club. The New York Daily Gazette, 
published in the year 1789, describes the society thus: " It 
is founded on the true principles of patriotism and has for 
its motives charity and brotherly love." Of recent years 
that part of its charter which relates to brotherly love has 
been suspended in its operation so far as reformers are con- 
cerned. The society was not greatly influential in city 



— y — 

politics until the early 50s, bat from that time to the present 
it has been a factor in every election. Its organization 
and discipline are well-nigh perfect. Its laws, written and 
unwritten, are observed with a fidelity and enthusiasm of 
the highest order, and for efficient campaign work it is 
doubtful if it has ever been surpassed by any political 
society. 

Its general plan of organization is as follows: The city 
of New York is divided into so-called assembly districts, 
somewhat corresponding to our wards. Each of these dis- 
tricts is in the charge of a captain, who is responsible for 
keeping up the organization in the district, and for the 
casting of the vote at elections. Each district has perma- 
nent headquarters, every member of the society is registered 
and must report any change of residence at headquarters, 
and is subject at any time to perform such duties as may be 
required of him by his superior officers. No violation of 
discipline escapes unpunished; successful activity is always 
rewarded by promotion in the society or by public office. 
Treachery or failure are always chastised. As a matter of 
course the fundamental theory of its constitution is that 
the success of the party's candidate means a reward by a 
gift of some public office or otherwise to every member of 
the society who needs it, and whenever it has happened that 
there were not enough offices to go around, a sufficient 
number were always created. 

The head of the society, Mr. Richard Croker, returned 
from foreign parts for the purpose of organizing the cam- 
paign. He selected as the candidate for Mayor, Robert A. 
Van Wyck, a member of long standing of the Tanmiany 
society, a judge of one of the city courts, a man of ability, 
good address, and against whose character no public charge 
has ever been made. The rest of the ticket selected by 
Mr. Croker was, of course, composed of persons of good 
standing in the Tammanv society, one requisite of which 



— 10 — 

is that a man shall never have voted anything but a straight 
Democratic ticket. The city convention which met soon 
after, ratified Mr. Croker's selection of candidates, but 
neither at the time of their original selection, so far as the 
public were taken into the confidence of Mr. Croker, nor at 
thetime of their nomination, did there seem to be any stress 
laid upon their special qualifications for ofiice. It seems 
to have been assumed, except in the case of the nominee 
for the Court of Appeals, that previous experience or 
special fitness for the duties of the office were minor 
considerations. 

THE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE. 

Senator Piatt, who has been for some years recognized 
as the leader of the regular Republicans in the city and 
State of New York, was earnestly importuned by many 
persons to select some Republican as nominee for Mayor, 
upon whom both the regulars and the independents could 
unite. It was conceded that as matters then stood Tam- 
many would control a majority of votes in the greater 
city, and would elect its candidate unless some such coali- 
tion was formed. Senator Piatt's answer was that he 
would prefer to see the regular nominee of the Republican 
party defeated than that any man of independent views in 
municipal matters should be elected, and Mr. Edward 
Lauteibach, President of the Republican County Com- 
mittee said: "Better have as Mayor a true Democrat or 
even a Tammany man than a man responsible to no party 
and with no party behind him." Mr. Piatt, therefore, 
selected, and the convention confirmed as nominee for 
Mayor, Gen. Benjamin F. Tracy, a lawyer of eminence, a 
former judge of the Court of Appeals and Secretary of the 
Navy of the United States and a man of spotless personal 
character. The remainder of the ticket was composed of 
men of standing in the community and in the main well 



— 11 — 

qualified for the offices, but it was not pretentled either by 
Senator Piatt or h}^ anybody in the convention, that the 
selections were made on the basis of qualification only. 
The candidates were named because they were Republicans 
of the most regular and stalwart type. Each party conven- 
tion adopted a platform according to custom, closely fol- 
lowing the last national platform of the party. The Repub- 
lican platform was of the usual stereotyped character, 
as described by Mr. Bryce, when he says it contained "a 
long series of resolutions, embodying the principles and 
programme of the party, which have usually been so drawn 
as to conciliate every section and avoid or treat with prudent 
ambiguity all questions on which opinion within the party is 
divided." 

The Democratic platform was of the same general charac- 
ter ; the most notable feature about it, however, was that 
it omitted all mention of the free silver issue ; notable, 
because that issue would have been quite as appropriate in 
the instrument as other national questions which were 
inserted. 

In both of these platforms there was, of course, some- 
thing said upon local issues, such as the rapid transit ques- 
tion, the liquor laws and other such matters, and, of course, 
all the usual promises as to honest and efficient admini;>tra- 
tion of the city's affairs were made. 

The two great parties thus confronted each other upon 
issues which were in the main purely partisan, and with can- 
didates of the same type. If matters were allowed to take 
their usual course the people most interested in the outcome 
would have been in the position of having no choice but 
to vote for a strict party man upon strict party issues, with 
no room to choose on the ground of special fitness. The 
situation was that which always confronts the citizen who 
holds to the view that he ought to have a chance to cast his 
vote for candidates for municipal office selected on some 



— 12 — 

other basis than that of their attitude upon the protective 
tariff issue or a national policy of annexation. 

THE JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY. 

There were certain Democrats in the city who thought 
that the platform of the party should have said something 
more than it did. That the single tax idea ought to have 
been touched upon as well as certain other matters, and 
they therefore bolted the nomination of Van Wyck, held a 
separate convention and placed at the head of their ticket 
Henry George, the well-known writer on social and eco- 
nomic subjects, adopting a platform admirable in many 
respects, containing vigorous denunciation of many evils 
and advocacy of many good things. The movement was 
designated as the Jeffersonian Democracy. The nomina- 
tion was accepted by Mr. George, who made an active 
campaign, and would undoubtedly have polled a very 
heavy vote but for his untimely death just previous to the 
election. The vote polled by his son, who was substituted 
in his place at the last moment, was insignificant. The 
movement was inspired by Henry George himself, and the 
following he received was, as in the case of his former 
nomination, largely due to a strong conviction of his per- 
sonal integrity, and his zealous advocacy of certain popular 
measures, both national and local. 

The candidacy of Gleason was not considered and was 
not in facta serious element of the contest. 

CITIZENS UNION MOVEMENT. 

The committee of seventy organized in 1894 and by 
whose efforts the election of Mayor Strong was accom- 
plished was temporary in its nature, but upon the basis of its 
organization a movement was inaugurated in the early part 



- 13 — 

of the year designed to establish a permanent association for 
the betterment of municipal affairs. It was not originally 
intended that it should nominate a ticket in this election, but 
as the campaign progressed and the partisan lines were so 
closely drawn, it became evident that the time had arrived to 
test its value. The main principles upon which the Union 
was based are substantially as follows: That municipal 
elections should be held separately from State and national 
elections ; that the city of New York should have local self- 
government; that no candidate should be eligible to munic- 
ipal office unless his character and record are such as to 
justify public confidence in his assurance that if elected he 
would not use his office or permit it to be used for the 
benefit of any political organization; that the merit sys- 
tem should be impartially enforced so as to atford a fair 
chance to every citizen, irrespective of political influence or 
affiliations ; that the city should retain ownership of its 
franchises and make grants thereof only for limited periods 
in order that the increases of value should accrue to the 
people ; that all corporations using city franchises be com- 
pelled to afford adequate service at reasonable rates ; that 
better rapid transit facilities be furnished, that the school 
accommodations and efficiency should be increased ; that 
the park system should be extended, and that baths and 
lavatories adequate to the pubic needs be established ; that 
the streets be well paved and kept clean; and that the laws 
relating to the sanitation of tenement houses be enforced. 
And in their manifesto to the public they used this lan- 
cruao-e: "Without calling upon any citizen to surrender 
in any degree his allegiance to his party, we insist upon an 
entire separation of municipal government from national 
and State politics, and we appeal to all good citizens of 
whatever party to unite with us in an organized effort to 
accomplish the objects of this union." 

The city was canvassed for members and the response 



— 14 — 

was prompt and enthusiastic. By the end of August over 
25,000 persons signified their desire to become members of 
the Union, and after a careful canvass of the situation a 
nominee was selected. The basis of his selection being his 
personal character and his public record, which, in brief, 
was as follows: After an experience in business life of 
eighteen years at the head of a large mercantile house, 
he retired from business and from that time devoted 
himself to public life and educational work. He organ- 
ized and was for some years president of the Bureau of 
Charities in Brooklyn. In this he had showed extraordinary 
powers of organization and executive ability. He had 
twice served as Mayor of Brooklyn with exceptional ability 
and had accomplished many reforms in the city's affairs. 
He had all his life given close attention to public affairs, 
had shown himself to be a man of broad views, great 
public spirit and a close student of the science of govern- 
ment. This man was Seth Low, whose name by reason 
of his spotless public and private record, and of his civic 
patriotism and unselfish devotion to the public good, af- 
forded every guarantee of special fitness for the great office 
which he was asked to accept. 

His name was submitted to the voters of New York, and 
out of a registration of about 550,000 more than 127,000 
signified their desire that he should be a candidate and their 
intention to vote for him. Under these circumstances he 
accepted the nomination, absolutely unpledged to anything 
except the cause of good municipal government. 

THE ISSUE. 

By these nominations the dilemma which confronted the 
voter after the strict party nominations had been made, 
was removed. The voters of Greater New York were by 
these means furnished with the option of voting for one of 



— 15 — 

four candidates all of whom were personally reputable. 
One nominated because he was a Republican ; another 
because he was a Democrat ; another because he was a zeal- 
ous advocate of the rights of man, and on that account a 
great popular favorite, and a fourth because by character, 
experience and ability he was conspicuously fitted to per- 
form the duties of his office. No fairer opportunity could 
ever be furnished of ascertaining just what kind of a Mayor 
the voters of Greater New York desired to have. 



THE CAMPAIGN. 

It is said by those who have had good opportunity to 
observe that no campaign was ever conducted in the city 
of New York where there was a greater number of persons 
actively interested and at work. The speeches of the Re- 
publican candidates, and orators, were largely taken up in 
abuse of Low as a traitor to his party, and in the stereo- 
typed denunciation of Tammany. The speeches of Mr. 
Low and his associates on the ticket were careful discus- 
sions of the past political history of the city, of the needs 
of the greater city and of the reasons why municipal gov- 
ernment should be conducted purely upon business and not 
partisan principles. 

The Tammany candidates and orators chiefly occupied 
themselves in denouncing the administration of Mayor 
Strong, the Raines Liquor Law, the treachery of the 
Republican machine and the promise of the repeal or 
non-enforcement of all laws which interfered with the 
individual liberty of the citizen. 

Henry George and his followers in addition to promising 
a great many municipal reforms, denounced by name many 
of the Republican and Democratic machine politicians as 
criminals and promised in case of his election their prosecu- 
tion and conviction. The personal elements introduced into 



— 16 — 



the campaign caused great bitterness and rancor and 
undoubtedly served to swell the vote. 



THE RESULT. 

Just on the eve of the election, the death of Henry 
George occurred and was most unfortunate in many ways. 
While it was not generally believed that he could be 
elected, it was known that his vote would be large, and 
would neutralize, if not overcome, the large number of 
Republicans who, it was understood, were to vote for Van 
Wyck, because Tracy's election was not considered possi- 
ble. There is in every city election a class of voters iden- 
tified with one or the other party, who are in fact indiffer- 
ent to party principles, and only seek personal advantage. 
These persons are in the habit of trading their votes with 
friends of opposing candidates, when the nominee of their 
own party is not likely to succeed, in consideration of like 
favors in the past, or for future delivery. The Tribune 
and other Republican newspapers of New York had urged 
a coalition as the only means of defeating Tammany's 
candidate, and when the party managers refused to take 
this course, they had given but half-hearted support to 
Tracy. 

It was conceded that George's son could not hold his 
father's vote, and hence there was an active scramble 
among the workers to secure it. The general supposition 
was that the bulk of it would go to Low, since his attitude in 
the campaign, the platform on which he stood and his per- 
sonality all seemed more calculated to appeal to them than 
those of the other candidates. Doubtless some were in- 
fluenced by the erroneous reports of George's last speech 
made on the night of his death, in which he was represented 
as saying that if he could not be elected he preferred the 
election of Van Wyck, and which he did not live to correct. 



— 17 — 

It is one of the unaccountable results of this election that 
the great majority ©f them went to Tammany, and if they 
did not cause Van Wyck's election they very largely con- 
tributed to that end. 

As is well known to you the whole Tammany ticket was 
elected. The vote was, in round numbers, Van Wyck, 
234,000; Low, 146,000; Tracy, 100,000, and Henry 
George, junior, 20,000. Van Wyck's plurality was 86,- 
000. The total vote was 499,000. Total registration, 550,- 
000. The candidate who received the third highest plural- 
ity was one of Tammany's nominees for district attorney, 
Gardner; by some this is accounted for by the fact that he 
coined and used in his speeches that unique and striking 
expression, " to hell with reform." 

There were of course some charges of fraud and some 
mistakes were made by the voters owing to the somewhat 
complicated form of the ballot. This was not indeed to be 
wondered at, since Croker, " the king-maker," himself did 
not know how to prepare his own ballot. In the main it is 
conceded that the election was a fair one and fairly repre- 
sented the intention of a great majority of the voters. 

The comments of the parties in interest when the result 
was known are interesting and significant ; even the 
silence of Gen. Tracy and Piatt is not without meaning. 

Henry George, Jr., said: " One thing is certain, that we 
have kept the faith and made the tight and we are not 
ashamed. Our organization will be kept up and the tight 
will go on." 

Mr. James C. Carter, president of the Citizens Union, 
said: "From present indications, Mr. Low is defeated. 
Our high expectations are disappointed; but, though 
defeated, reasonable men will tind much cause for gratitica- 
tion. It is our first deliberate effort for strictly non-parti- 
san government. The heavy vote for Mr. Low is a triumph 
for that cause. The blind fealty to machine rule will yet 



— 18 — 

give way. For one, I have no thought except to continue 
the fight." 

Mr. Low said : " It is better to have fought and lost in 
such a cause than not to have fought at all. There is no 
need to despair of good government in the city when such 
a struggle could be made against such odds." 

Judge Van Wyck said: *' The election is over, the polls 
are closed, the ballots counted, the democracy has been 
victorious, and 1 am, I learn, by popular choice the Mayor 
of the city of Greater New York." 

The head sachem of Tammany, Mr. Croker, said: " It is 
a victory of the people against hypocrisy, mendacity, per- 
sonal abuse and malice. The people have registered their 
opinion of fake politics and fake reform by electing the 
entire Van Wyck ticket." 

The principal newspapers of the city, with the exception 
of the Journal had, either openly or tacitly, supported 
Low ; even the Tribune, the most stalwart of Republican 
organs, said after the election that the Citizens Union had 
been vindicated. 

The Herald said : " The campaign is over, and in the 
good old American way, the people will accept the result 
at the polls. It is of their own doing. If they have been 
wise in their action they will reap its rewards. Ifthey have 
committed a folly they have themselves to blame and the 
consequent evil to bear." 

The World said: " The fore-ordained has hap- 
pened. * * * The only hope of defeating Tammany 
was in complete union of all the opposition. Anti-Tam- 
many division means Tammany's walk-over." 

The Journal said: "New York is once more a Demo- 
cratic city. The impregnable stronghold of Democracy in 
the Union." 

The Eve7iing Post said in substance that the people had 
gotten what they wanted. An obscure country paper 



— 19 — 

tersely remarked that it was just another time when the 
" regiUars had licked the militia." The London Times, 
which may be assumed to be impartial, said editorially: 
" We know what use Tammany will make of its victory. 
The merchants and bankers, the wise and cultivated men, 
the honest and philanthropic citizens will be as impotent 
under Croker's domination as the Italian or Hungarian 
patriots were under Metternich's benumbing rule; and who 
can deny that ' the people love to have it so? ' " 

THE CAUSES THAT LED TO IT. 

It seems to have been generally conceded that the Demo- 
crats had a normal majority of 100,000 in the territory 
included in Greater New York ; but it was thought that the 
record of Strong's administration, as compared with the 
extravagance and corruption of Tammany rule in the past 
would be sufficient to overcome this, if the popular mind 
had been educated to the point of understanding that be- 
cause a man had always voted the Democratic ticket he 
was not necessarily the best qualified to solve the difficult 
questions of Municipal Government. But though it seems 
paradoxical, the record of this administration, which was 
probably the best, on the whole, New York had ever had, was 
the thing which contributed most to Tammany's triumph. 

An analysis of this may prove interesting. Among the 
appointments made by Mayor Strong was the Superintend- 
ent of Public Works, who had an idea that when sewer 
and water mains were laid the work ought to be thoroughly 
done. Early in the administration he began repairing some 
sewers and was surprised to find that thei-e was not among 
all the city records any map or other document showing 
the locations of the sewers already existing, and in order 
to make proper connections it became necessary for him to 
dig up a great number of streets and to keep them in 



— 20 — 

an impassable condition for many months, greatly incon- 
veniencing the public and the property owners. This was 
used as a powerful argument against the reform adminis- 
tration. It was stated that the public had been made to lose 
millions of dollars owing to the incompetency of this official. 
In point of fact the public was then paying the penalty 
of Tammany's incompetency in the past; but it cost Low 
many votes. Another of Strong's appointees was a police 
board headed by Theodore Roosevelt, who seems to have 
had the idea that it was his duty to enforce all the laws and 
it was not in his discretion to ignore some and enforce 
others. Among those which he did enforce was the so- 
called Raines' Liquor Law, a law which greatly interfered 
with the convenience of those desiring to drink freely on 
Sundays. The law provided, among other things, that only 
restaurants could sell liquor on that day. In consequence 
thereof, every saloon was turned into a restaurant and 
every customer was compelled to buy a sandwich when he 
bought his drink. ♦' Dummy" sandwiches were used and 
served to customers, and the law practically nullified but 
the whole thing was regarded as a great outrage and caused 
a reaction of feeling in favor of Tammany. The Health 
Department officials appointed by Strong had a law passed 
so that in case any tenement became unsanitary it might be 
destroyed upon payment to the owner of its appraised 
value. The necessity of a law like this in a place like New 
Tork, which contains in one part of it about an acre of 
ground which is the most thickly populated place on the 
globe, is obvious. These health officers found a great many 
unsanitary tenements, and, being unwise enough to think 
the law meant something, destroyed them. This seems to 
have been regarded by many voters as an outrageous in- 
vasion of private rights and the incident gave Tammany 
many thousands of votes. 

Mayor Strong's Street Commissioner, Col. Waring, was 



— 21 — 

possessed with the notion that the streets ought really to 
be kept clean. He found that men, most of whose time 
was devoted to politics, did not make as good street clean- 
ers as others who had the requisite physical qualifications 
and whose minds were not disturbed by the consideration 
of great political problems. He conducted the department 
on purely business principles; put out incompetent men; 
appointed good ones and kept the streets cleaner than ever 
before. He was also unwise enough to make an order that 
truck men should not leave their wagons in the street, 
because the streets were for the public and not for private 
stables and he also made a public statement on one occa- 
sion to the effect that he did not see wh}', because a man 
was a Grand Army man, he should be entitled to preference 
of appointment in his department. These things gave 
great offense, and the result was that the administration 
of this department caused many thousands of votes to be 
cast for Tammany. 

Dr. Parkhurst too has his share of blame in the matter. 
To him was ascribed by Tammany the initiation of those 
hideous reforms which threatened to undermine and pervert 
public office from its true purpose. He was known among 
the followers of Tammany as " the clerical clown " and 
the " pulpit mountebank " and with these handles to his 
name it was not difficult for them to persuade many that, 
instead of being a zealous, honest man, who had made 
some foolish mistakes but accomplished a vast amount of 
o-ood, he was a demon in disguise whose real purpose was to 
defraud the members of the Democratic party out of their 
just rights. 

Finally the argument was made that this reform admin- 
istration had not only done all of these wicked things, but 
had done them very expensively, had raised the rate of tax- 
ation and were oppressing the people. This argument was 
made plausible by the fact that the rate of taxation ivas in- 



— 22 — 

creased by this administration in order to meet necessary- 
expenditures. Of course the mere rate of taxation is a very 
incomplete argument. The real question is how much public 
money did each administration expend, and how did it ex- 
pend it. The fact seems to be that Tammany did not expend 
as much money in the various departments as did the reform 
administration, but then Tammany did not do the work, 
and when the reform administration took hold, the depart- 
ments were without machinery, the public institutions were 
in a deplorable condition, and the expenditure of large 
sums of money was necessary to make them of any value. 
The whole matter was tersely summed up in a remark made 
in reference to the street department to the effect that 
Tammany only spent two million dollars per annum, where 
Waring spent three, but Waring cleaned the streets and 
Tammany didn't. 

The charge that the bonded debt of the city was in- 
creased during this administration, is met by the fact that 
part of such increase was necessary to complete public works 
already planned and deemed necessary to be carried out, and 
the remainder was due to the fact that the Tammany adminis- 
tration had incurred a large floating indebtedness and pur- 
posely delayed the issue of l)onds, leaving the odium of this 
proceeding to be borne by the Strong adminstration. The 
great growth in the city's population and its requirements, 
taken in conjunction with expenditures needed to repair 
Tammany's waste and neglect, fully account for any dif- 
ference in outlay between the Strong administration and its 
predecessor, and there is always this to be remembered : 
that every dollar expended was honestly, if not in all cases 
judiciously, laid out for the benefit of the public. 

The only reasonable criticisms against the Strong adminis- 
tration are, first, that the Mayor did not oppose with sufficient 
vigor the passage of the law providing for the creation of 
Greater New York; second, that in some cases certain 



— 23 — 

public works, such as the Dock Department, Harlem liiver 
Bridges, etc., woiiM better have been delayed on the ground 
of economy ; third, that in view of the fact that Tammany 
had tilled the city pay-rolls with unnecessary employees, 
some offices might have been abolished ; fourth, that the 
appropriations for the Board of Education might have been 
cut down without serious injury to the public; and, fifth, 
that in the matter of public charities, burdens were shifted 
upon the community which should have been borne by 
individuals. 

There is very serious difference of opinion upon all these 
points, even now that the administration is ended and all 
the figures are at hand ; and it would require a most minute 
investigation to determine the exact merits of the contro- 
versy. The better opinion is, that while there is some 
ground for these criticisms, they have no sound basis, except 
in regard to the discretion and judgment of those who had 
charge of the city's affairs. It is believed, even conceding 
that the amounts involved were as great as the opposition 
charged, that, on the whole, the public has not seriously 
suffered by reason of any of these things. 

Thus it came to pass that the people in their wisdom put 
Tammany out of power in 1894, because they believed that 
Tammany was corru})t, and did not give them a good gov- 
ernment, and in 1897 the same people put Tammany back 
into power, not because they believed it to be any less cor- 
rupt, but because the reform administration had simply 
enforced the laws the people themselves had made. 

The war cry of Tammany during the whole campaign 
was that persoiuil liberty should be restored. An attempt 
to analyze this rather vague expression discloses that per- 
sonal liberty was generally understood to mean that certain 
laws were not to be enforced where they infringed upon the 
liberty of the individual, for the good of the public ; which 
raises the query as to svhether the word Ubertt/ ought not in 



— 24 — 

this connection to be read license. No less a person than 
ex-Governor Hoadley, of Ohio, now a resident of New 
York, has recently stated in the public prints that he was 
glad of the success of Tammany because it would put an 
end to the enforcement of those " inconvenient Blue Laws," 
dug up from somewhere by " Teddy" Roosevelt. 

Some citizens of New York voted for Tammany because 
they knew that Tammany would not tear down their ten- 
ements which, though unsanitary, paid twenty per cent 
per annum. Others felt that another reform administra- 
tion would put an end to getting profitable franchises from 
the cit3\ Tammany has always been friendly to parties 
desiring franchises who are willing to pay for them and so, 



CONCLUSION. 

As has been stated, this election affords the best test of 
the sentiment of this great community as to what kind of a 
government it desires. There were two straight-out party 
candidates, the candidate of sentiment, Henry George, and 
the candidate running on a strictly business platform. 
Everything was most thoroughly discussed in the news- 
papers, the history of the candidates and every issue raised 
in the platforms being published with the greatest fullness. 
It was scarcely possible for any one of the five hundred 
thousand men casting their votes to misunderstand the real 
issue, and while there is the encouraging fact that nearly 
150,000 voters went upon record as favoring a strictly bus- 
iness administration, and the fact that it was a " Democratic 
year " which slightly increased Tammany's vote, the result 
is far from satisfactory from the standpoint of good munic- 
ipal government. 

For one thing it shows that since 1894, the number of 
persons who believe in strictly business principles as 



- 25 - - 

applied to the administration of a city government and 
vote accordingly bas decreased not only relatively but 
actually, and it also shows that while many may be in favor 
of good city government in the abstract, yet when it i3 
necessary that they should make individual sacrifices of com- 
fort and money for the public good their preference changes. 
Tammany will soon be in power for four years. It will 
have within its grasp the revenues of a kingdom and the 
powers of an absolute monarch — for the people are bound 
■with chains of their own forging ; the very safeguards 
designed to restrain will be cunningly used to cloak the 
iniquities of this hideous, political devil-fish whose tentacles 
encompass the community. January 1st, 1898, will inaugu- 
rate a new era of plunder and corruption. The merit sys- 
tem in oiBce will be broken down. Blackmailing in all its 
forms and of all sorts and conditions of men will be 
resumed. The police force will again become a hungry 
horde of uniformed and licensed banditti, terrorizing the 
law-abiding and levying unholy tribute upon the vicious. 
The criminal courts will administer not justice, but the 
decrees of Tammany Hall; public franchises will become 
the assets of a partisan society instead of the community ; 
and every means known to ingenuity, daring and experi- 
ence will be used to despoil the people for the enrichment 
of the machine. New York, the greatest municipal cor- 
poration in the republic, has given an unlimited power of 
attorney for the management of her affairs, irrevocable for 
four years, to an agency whose vocation is spoliation ; which 
on one occasion robbed her of an amount thrice as great 
as the war indemnity exacted of France by Germany, and 
this, not through mistake, not through any unfortunate, 
compelling necessity, but with eyes wide open, with full 
knowledge of the facts, and because, forsooth, " party 
discipline must be maintained and party candidates 
supported." 



— 26 — 

There is, it is true, a large number of persons who con- 
scientiously believe that the government of cities by national 
party machinery is the true one. The argument is that as 
national parties are essential under our form of government, 
that the organization of such parties can only be maintained 
by means of city patronage, and that therefore such elec- 
tions must be conducted on the basis of reward for partisan 
service and punishment for its neglect. The answer to this 
argument is, conceding that national parties are necessary, 
it does not follow that their organization depends upon local 
patronage. They ought to be and can be maintained upon 
issues based on principles of government. If they cannot 
be maintained upon principles only, then it seems clear that 
they ought not to be maintained ; and even the vicious 
national habit in which we have indulged for nearly a hun- 
dred years past, based upon the opposite view, does not 
justify it. 

A man very prominent as a worker for reform in New 
York is reported to have recently stated " I have learned 
one thing from this election, and that is that we must not 
try to reform every thing at once. The people cannot stand 
it in too big doses." This conclusion was emphasized by a 
remark made by Richard Croker, who said : " These reform- 
ers stood up so straight they fell over backwards." There 
is indeed much sound philosophy in both remarks, 

Mr. Bryce said that our system of government as applied 
to great cities was distinctly a failure. With the exception 
of the fact that city officials are elected on a partisan 
basis, this conclusion is unwarranted. The systems are 
admirable. It is simply their maladministration which is 
making them more and more intolerable every year. 
Popular uprisings are not a remedy for this evil. The 
remedy is purely educational and must be along lines 
which will convince the majority of the people that an 
active interest in public affairs is the price they must pay 



— 27 — 

for the privileges which they eujoy as members of a com- 
munity ; if they will not pay this price they will never get 
good city government. It matters not whether a man's 
property interest is large or small except that the rich man 
pays the penalty in money, while the poor man pays it in 
bad health, discomforts and even in death. If every voter 
would give to the business of the city one-tenth of the 
time that he gives to criticism of its management, the prob- 
lem would be solved ; but the average American citizen 
has not yet reached the point Avhere he would not rather 
denounce others for doing ill that which he himself ought 
to have done. 

In every American city to-day there stands a small self- 
selected minority, actuated only by conscientious motives, 
laboring to remedy existing municipal evils. Back of them 
stands the great majority in each community wholly indiffer- 
ent to their own interests, withholding aid and even encour- 
agement from the devoted baud which is fighting their l)at- 
tles, and often rewarding their services only with sneers and 
charges of sinister designs. Opposed are the well organ- 
ized, disciplined forces of those whose vocation is plunder- 
ing the community through public office. Selfishness, 
greed, absence of civic pride in the great majority are the 
constant, active allies of the opposition. Small wonder 
then that the devoted few are powerless. 

Were these things a mystery, this anomaly might be 
understood, but such is not the case. There is not in the 
United States an intelligent man who does not, and has not 
for years, known the facts to be as stated here, and yet 
collectively men permit municipal outrages which individ- 
ually they would resent as the foulest tyranny; they 
supinely endure treachery in public agents which they 
would punish with the utmost severity in the case of private 
ones. 

It is, in brief, a political paradox, unless we regretfully 



— 28 — 

accept the theory that all government in republics being 
the inevitable resultant of contending social and moral 
forces, the municipal governments of the United States 
to-day are truthful exponents of the average intelligence, 
education and morality of the people. 




014 221 584 6 



Legion t 


of i Honor t 1 

SUPREME COUNCIL, 


Oil 


rector 


Office 


, Equitable Building, St. 


Louis. 


Supreme 

L 


Chancellor, Amos 


F. 

5. 


Hoffer 


1ST OF COUNCIL 





Time and Place of Meeting — Names of Chancellors. 

1. ALPHA Finney and Vandeventer 2d and 4th Tuesdays. 

Walter J. Weight, Chancellor. 

2. IRVING 34th and Olive Sts 2d and 4th Tuesdays. 

Richard Hanlon, Chancellor. 

3. CARONDELBT Broadway and Haven St 2d and 4th Fridays. 

OSCAR F. DOEKING, Chancellor. 

4. HYDE PARK 11th and Franklin Av 2d and 4th Fridays. 

E. M. Wadswoeth, Chancellor. 

5. FRANKLIN 13th and Chouteau Av 2d and 4th Tuesdays. 

A. Shattingee, Chancellor. 

6. ST, LOmS 34th and Olive Sts 1st and 3d Mondays. 

Jessk W. EiSEMAN, Chancellor. 

7. UNITY Garrison Av. and Olive St 2d and 4th Thursdays. 

W. P. Lightholder, Chancellor. 

8. KIRKWOO D Kirkvrood, Mo 1st and 3d Thursdays. 

S. D. Webster. Chancellor. 

9. COMPTON HILL Anchor Hall 2d and 4th Mondays. 

GEO. B. Teasdale, Chancellor. 

10. IRA 11th and Franklin Av 2d and 4th Wednesdays. 

H. T. McShane, Chancellor. 

11. EMPIRE 13th and Chouteau Av 2d and 4t.h Saturdays. 

W. M. Abbsser, Chancellor. 

12. GROVE Benton Station Ist and 3d Thursdays. 

Leon A. Larimore, Chancellor. 

14. STELLA 11th and Franklin Av 2d and 4th Fridays. 

W. S. Moore, Chancellor. 

15. BONAPARTE 34th and Olive Sts 2d and 4th Saturdays. 

Thbo. H. Culver, Chancellor. 

16.. WEBSTER Wehster Groves, Mo Ist and 3d Thursdays. 

w. H. Simmons, Chancellor. 

17. EXCELSIOR 3948 Easton Av Ist and 3d Tuesdays, 

Chas. X. Gauthier, Chancellor. 

18. IVANHOE 3022 Olive St. 2d and 4th Thursdays. 

Jno. F. Green, Chancellor. 

19. LAFAYETTE 18th and Shenandoah Every Monday. 

Henet C. Dobrr, Chancellor. 

21. TOWER 20th and Bissell Sts 1st and 3d Saturdays. 

C. Hopmann, Chancellor. 

22. BENTON Kansas City, Mo 1st and 3d Fridays. 

C, F. SCHLEY, Chancellor, 

23. BUENA VISTA St, Ange and Park Avs 2nd and 4th Fridays, 

L, Henninger, Chancellor. 

24. MISSOURI Jefferson City, Mo 2d and 4th Thursdays. 

W. J. Chambliss, Chancellor. 

26. ST. JOSEPH St. Joseph, Mo 2d and 4th Tuesdays, 

Kerr M. Mitchell, Chancellor. 

27. CARTHAGE Carthage, Mo 1st and 3d Tuesdays. 

Ernest B. Jacobs, Chancellor, 



014 221 584 6 



